Giving Up The Ghost
by SoraGirl
Summary: After an unexpected accident, Danny must struggle to decide if letting Sam rest in peace is worth losing her forever. Post Phantom Planet.
1. Open Your Eyes

**Disclaimer: **Don't own the characters; don't own the music; just own the story.

**Author's Notes: **This 6 part story takes place post Phantom Planet. While writing the story, it sort of developed it's own little soundtrack from songs already on my Ipod so I figured I might as well include it. The title of each chapter is also the title of the song on the "soundtrack" that relates to it. I've included the artist name (along with another related song) under "music suggestions" above the title of each chapter. If you have the time and/or are looking for some new music, I suggest listening to each song as you read each chapter. (Sadly, there was no way for me to sync the songs and the music, as everyone reads at their own pace)

If you're not, it's fine to totally ignore the musical aspect. The story was meant to work fine on its own. So now, without any further adieu--

**Music suggestions:**

Open Your Eyes- Snow Patrol

Eulogy- The Hereafter

**Giving Up the Ghost**

_**Part I: Open Your Eyes**_

He should have been paying attention. He knew he should be; he _wanted _to be. It was important, _especially _to him. But he couldn't listen to the words; he couldn't understand their meaning. All he could do was what he had done for the better part of the last three days: sit, stare, and try desperately to make some kind of sense of it all.

There were some in the crowd that may have thought his wide-eyed vacant expression meant he was daydreaming about something better, perhaps something more exciting. Those people were the people who didn't know him at all. Everyone who'd met him, seen him, knew _anything _about him, understood the emotion behind his empty eyes. Disbelief. Utter disbelief.

"…and there is no question she succeeded. She was an individual, unlike anyone else…but that just makes us miss her all the more." The speaker laid a flower down, walked in complete silence from the podium, and took his seat next to the empty-looking boy. They caught each other's eyes for a moment: one pair urging, the other no more than opened. The speaker's eyes closed under exhausted eyelids that tried hard to keep back tears.

That small motion pulled Danny up out of his trance for the briefest moment, so that when his friend's eyes opened again, he was able to manage a small shake of the head and wince, clarification to Tucker that he _couldn't _speak…whether or not he wanted to.

He would always remember the rest of the ceremony as unreal blur of time, color, and sound. It felt like the strangest kind of dream, the kind you're so lost inside you can't even hope to wake up from. He only started to come to after they had driven away.

The car ride was silent, and Danny hated it. He wanted his dad to crack a joke or Jazz to yell at him or his mom to play a road game. _Anything _but silence. Silence gave him time to think, and he knew he could only hold the truth at bay for so long. Sooner or later, it was going to have hit him. He wasn't sure how he would survive the blow.

The silence continued to the doorstep where Maddie Fenton, fumbling with her keys, broke into soft huffs of tears. Jack put a comforting arm around her and finished opening the door. Danny was the last to enter. The house was different; he was aware of that much. He'd spent the last few nights on the couch, fearing the dose of reality that would come from going into his room. He wasn't letting himself think about it, but it was still buried inside him somewhere deep, nestled in every cell like a virus, and every moment he felt sick enough to die. He climbed onto the couch and went to turn on the TV. Jazz sat down on the coffee table in front of him, obstructing his view.

The look on his sister's face made the sick feeling in his stomach grow. Sensible, logical Danny, who had been hiding since The Day, squirmed. He knew what she was going to do. She took hold of his hand.

"Danny, I love you _so _much," she started shakily.

_Oh god, no. Please no,_ the Danny that had been hiding pleaded desperately from within himself.

As if Jazz had heard the silent plea, tears began making tiny trailways down her cheeks. "I _have _to do this. This…what you're doing…is not healthy. I'm your big sister, and I'm supposed to take care of you…and I don't want you to--but this isn't good for you. I promised Mom and Dad if you were still like this after the funeral…"

Danny focused his eyes intensely at the blank TV behind Jazz and tried to force himself back into a daze. Jazz was crying harder now, she moved beside him on the couch. "Look at me, Danny…." she snorted an scandalized laugh through tears. "God, do you think this is easy for _me_?" She squeezed his hand tight with both of hers. "Danny, you _have _to look at me."

He _did _have to. His sister's eyes locked on his own and his insides were thrown into complete chaos. He thought he might vomit. Jazz wanted to close her eyes but knew she had to connect with him somehow. She gathered her courage and said as sternly as she could, "Danny: Sam is dead."

Each sound hit as if it were a hundred pound weight flung onto his chest. What struck him harder though was that he _knew _it was the truth. In one last ditch attempt to keep it all away, he shook his head and whimpered, "N-no…she…no." It was too late. He had broken and so had the flood gates that kept it all back.

He started crying lightly at first, but within seconds he had progressed into hysterics. Jazz, crying harder as well, hugged him tightly. She felt his ragged, shaking heaves reverberate through her, and she closed her eyes to try and stop her own tears from pouring. "Shh…" she whispered, stroking his back. "It's okay."

His cries seemed to come in cycles. At times he would struggle frantically, furiously against her, clawing at blankets around them, enraged at himself and the world. But she would hold strong until his body went limp again and his cries became weak whimpers of "No, no, no." She wasn't sure how long it took, maybe hours, but eventually, he cried out every bit of energy in him, and he could do nothing more than to fall asleep, though his body still seemed to quiver with every breath in. She stayed with him, determined to be there when he woke up. As the lights in the houses around them shut off and other families went to bed, she stroked his hair gently and let her own tears silently flow.


	2. Adventures In Solitude

**Music suggestions:**

Adventures in Solitude- The New Pornographers

_**Part II: Adventures in Solitude**_

When Danny's eyes opened up the next morning, he thought for a brief, beautiful moment, it might have all been a nightmare. He looked up at Jazz, sleeping beside him with tear stained eyes, and knew he hadn't dreamed it. He bit down so hard on his tongue to try to keep from crying it bled, and it still didn't stop the tears.

Jazz woke up and automatically went to embrace him. He stood up and shook his head. "I need to be alone for a while," he managed to spit out and without another word, he was out the door.

He walked down the street at almost a run and felt an angry heat boiling up inside him each time a passerby glanced his way. He wanted to be alone. He wasn't even sure he had meant to, but moments later, he was flying.

Sam was dead. His tears dropped down like rain, which started falling from the clouds as if on queue. He was glad for the storm. When he came home drenched at least he could blame it on the weather.

He landed at the park where he and Sam had had their first kiss (fake-out-make-out or not). It was empty now, all the picnicking couples had run home to avoid the rain. He fell onto a bench and put his face in his hands.

Sam was dead. He wasn't ready for it, but he should have known. The world loved him, his family knew his secret, and he had fallen in love with his best friend. Things had been perfect. He should have known nothing stays perfect for long.

He heard the splashing sound of a car zipping over the wet street, and his head snapped up furiously to look. A car. A stupid, soulless hunk of metal. After all Sam had faced with him, the ghosts and horrors and near death experiences, and _that _had killed her…something so _everyday_.

He _should _have been there. He should have walked her home. He _always _walked her home. But not this time, and it had started to rain--that warm kind of summer rain that's almost irresistible. She had walked slow to take it in. He called her to make sure she had gotten home okay and the rhythm of the laughter in her voice matched the beat of the raindrops on pavement. She was telling him how much she wished he was there with her when everything stopped. Everything but that sick blend of unforgettable sound.

The driver had been drinking; the road had been wet; there had been a lose part in the street that he had swerved to avoid. That's what they had told him, like that made it make sense. Like it made sense for someone to miss hitting some piece of metal and hit Sam instead, like it made sense that the world would work to set everything in place _just_ right to kill the girl he loved.

It didn't. It didn't make any sense, and it didn't make any more sense the more he sat there, trying to feel her in the warm rain. How could she-- everything she was, everything she meant to him--have ended in just a moment?…be _gone_? It couldn't. _She _couldn't.

It was dark when he found himself back at the foot of the stairs heading to his room. If his parents noticed he was dripping wet when he passed by the living room where they spoke in whispers, they didn't say. The water that had been warm outside, inside bit coldly at his skin. He walked to the room he had been avoiding as if now a magnet pulled him there.

He fell down onto the bed he hadn't seen since The Day. The jacket he'd given her still lay there, he pulled it close to him. It still smelled like her. He closed his eyes tight and tried to pretend that she was still there with him, lying beside him like she had before that day had become The Day. He imagined so well he fell asleep.

He awoke to the feel of a soft kiss on his forehead. Eyes still closed, he smiled in anticipation. Sure enough, two more kisses came, one on each cheek, before one last light kiss on the lips. It had started off as her way of teasing him, holding back a real kiss till the last moment, but it had become somewhat of a tradition. He squinted open his eyes. Sam grinned sweetly at him before getting up.

Still half asleep, he groaned out an attempted puppy-dog whine and reached out to catch her arm and pull her back beside him. She moved just out of the way.

"I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep," she whispered. "I promised my parents I'd be home by 8."

Danny groaned again, not entirely conscious. He tried to move toward the edge of the bed. "I'll walk y--" he started. Sam leaned down and kissed him again, sending a cool tingle over his lips.

"Go back to sleep," she commanded. "Or do you think I'm too weak to handle myself?"

"Sam--" he began, still struggling to get out of bed, but she had already gathered her things.

"Give it up and go to bed," she teased from the door. "I set your alarm clock to go off in 15 minutes so you maybe, you know, you could _start_ on that scholarship essaythat was technically due _last _week."

"I hate you," Danny grumbled almost incoherently. He'd forgotten about the paper.

"Such a sweet boyfriend," Sam joked back, rolling her eyes. She closed to the door, and Danny, smiling contently, fell back asleep.

When he did wake up, it wasn't because he'd heard the shrill ring of his cellphone. It was the sounds. The car, the scream, the static, the silence.

He vomited till there was nothing left to bring up and fell asleep against the cold tile of a toilet.


	3. The Ghost of A Good Thing

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to those of you that reviewed, it means more to me than you know :)

**Music suggestions:**

Chasing the Ghost of a Good Thing- Dashboard Confessional

Go Places- The New Pornographers

And I Have Seen the World of Dreams- Okkervil River

_**Part III: The Ghost of A Good Thing**_

"She's alive," Danny repeated bluntly.

Tucker rubbed his eyes, which, in the light of his basement, looked almost as tear-ridden and sleep-deprived as Danny's. "It was a dream, Danny. You said everything happened exactly like it did…That Day. It was just your sleeping brain replaying a memory. "

"It wasn't just a memory! I told you: I _felt _it. She kissed me, and I _felt _it," Danny insisted. His eyebrows furrowed. "It could be some kind of plot. One of my enemies making us all think that she died, but really--"

Tucker interrupted before he could go any father. "Do you _hear_ yourself? Do you hear what you're saying? You're talking like one of those nut jobs on a soap box. There are ways to grieve, man. Going crazy isn't one of them."

"I'm not going crazy!" Danny shouted, though he wasn't too thoroughly convinced of that himself. He stood up and began to pace. "When she kissed me…I _felt _it. Not dream felt it; not memory felt it--_real _felt it."

He saw the expression in Tuck's eyes change to somber sympathy. "I don't want to let her go either. But Sam is _gone_. We were there when--"

"Don't!" Danny interrupted, partially afraid to hear the rest, partially desperate to get an explanation. He breathed in deep and tried to calm himself down (with little success). He looked his friend dead in the eye. "Weren't you listening? When she kissed me…it was like--"

Danny's eyes opened wider as his mouth shut closed. It was like _ice_. It made sense. Of _course_ it made sense.

"Danny?" Tucker's voice was weary.

"I forgot I promised Jazz I would help with dinner tonight," Danny mumbled quickly. He didn't want to lie to his best friend, but he needed to be 100 sure before he told him. Otherwise, he could argue back and maybe prove it was all a dream after all.

Danny rushed out the door, and Tucker made no attempt to follow. Instead, he took off his glasses and laid his head in his hands.

Danny moved so quickly he was back in his house rushing up the stairs in barely so much as a blink. He threw open the door and saw Sam sitting, notebook open, on the bed. She smiled at him. "Your mom sai-"

He had thrown himself at her and kissed her, full force, on the lips.

The kiss was chilly, like he remembered it, the same cold breath he felt when _any _ghost was around. But he was touching her. His hands were in her hair. He hadn't just fallen right through her. How?

"Woah, _woah_," Sam laughed uncomfortable, pushing him off her. "Who knew summer calculus homework was such a turn on?"

The words flew meaninglessly over his ears as if birds above a battlefield. He broke into tears, kissing her again. "_Jesus Christ_, Sam," he sniffed, squeezing her so tightly his arms began to shake. "You have no idea how much you scared me."

Sam, however, seemed to be the frightened one now. "What are you talking about?" she asked, terrified by her own unawareness.

He wiped his eyes and kissed her again. "I thought--we all thought that you were gone: _Gone_, gone. I know, I'm an idiot. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner." He hugged her again as if for dear life. "Are you okay? Why didn't you just come downstairs? How are you tangible?"

"Danny, you are officially freaking me out. _What _is going on?" Sam demanded. Danny's saw the scared confusion in her face and his heart sank.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Danny asked. His voice shook because he was pretty sure he knew what she would answer.

"What are you talking about? I haven't forgotten anything. I've been with you all day. You went down stairs to get some water. Your mom told me we were going to try to leave at 4 in the morning tomorrow for the beach trip."

The beach trip. After everything, he had completely forgotten about it. They were all supposed to leave on Saturday to spend the week at some nice hotel on the water…but that was before. It was all before. _She _was before. Sam didn't know what had happened. She didn't know she was dead.

"Danny, you've got to talk to me here. You're really freaking me out." There was a strain of real desperation in her otherwise laughing tone. It stung him. How could he possibly break her the news _he _hadn't even been able to handle?

He kissed her, this time gently and soothingly. He sat on the top of the bed with his back against the wall and pulled her into his arms. He exhaled smoothly as he stroked her hair. "Man, I'm sorry," he whispered, resting his cheek on her head. "I just, had this weird…like daydream. I think I may be hallucinating. I haven't been sleeping a lot lately."

She squeezed against him tightly, uncertainty replaced with concern. "You okay?"

He looked down at her, her eyes seemed no less alive than they ever had. "As long as you're here."

"Where else would I be?" she smiled. It was just a sweet something for her to say, she wasn't looking him to respond. Still, a bitter, angry part of him suggested cruelly: _Six feet below the ground?_

He didn't want to fall asleep. He wanted to stay up and savor every second of love he thought he'd lost. But he was exhausted and the feeling of her breathing slowing against his chest was stronger than any sedative.

He woke up again to the feeling of a cool kiss against his forehead, then one on his left, then right cheek and finally, on his lips. This time, he jolted awake and grabbed Sam by the arm.

"Go back to bed," she whispered with a grin. "Don't need you having anymore delusions."

"Don't go!" Danny demanded, pulling her back toward him.

"Danny I have to--"

He looked at the clock. 7:54. The accident happened at 8:00, exactly. "Sam, I _need _you to stay with me right now. At least until 8:01." He wasn't sure why he thought he could save a ghost from having died. It wasn't a logical decision, he just felt it. He was desperate not to let her out of his sight.

"But--"

"I swear I will never ask you for anything ever again if you do this for me right now. I can't explain why, I just need you to stay here." His heart was racing. 7:55.

He expected her to question. He expected her to want to know why. But something in his tone kept her from saying anything but. "Okay."

"Thank you," he exhaled and hugged her. "Let's just…talk."

"About what?" She was confused and scared by the way he was acting but trying to make sure it didn't show.

He took a moment to search for a topic that might take his mind of the waiting. "What we're going to do at the beach."

"Well, continue our epic scrabble battle, of course," she smiled. The battle had been going on for at least two months, every time there was a rainy day. Currently it was Sam's 12 games to Danny's 2.

"Is it really fair to call it a battle when you're mercilessly destroying me?" he pondered out loud.

"Not really. I was just trying to be polite," she joked back.

And things seemed normal, so normal that they were still discussing beach activities when the clock turned to 7:59.

"I happen to be a pr-" Her teasing was interrupted by a screech that seemed to shake the whole house. Instinctively, Danny threw his arms around her. One second she was binded against him as tightly as steel, then a blood-curdling scream and suddenly she was flying across the room propelled by some invisible force. She hit the wall upright, squirming as if she was held there by something. Her screams turned to weak tears as she struggled against an attacker she couldn't see.

"SAM!" Danny was trying desperately to pull her free to no avail. She opened her mouth to speak but only blood and unrecognizable sounds poured out. She writhed desperately in place but couldn't escape. Her breaths became short and quick as it dawned on her: She was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. The world around her seemed to play in silent slow motion and though she could see Danny screaming and trying to rip her free, she couldn't hear him or _feel _him.

She waited for him to look into her eyes one last time. She wanted to give him something good…a smile, a hand squeeze, some kind of goodbye. But she was more hurt than she knew. When the wait was over and his eyes met hers, all she could do was shake her head slightly and close her eyes for the last time. Her body slid down from the wall and disappeared.

The rest of Fentons returned home from an emergency ghost call two hours later. They found Danny asleep on the bathroom floor.


	4. That Girl Has Love

**Author's Notes: **Thank you so much for the reviews! I _truly_ appreciate them :)

**Music suggestions:**

That Girl Has Love by Rooney

So Come Back, I Am Waiting by Okkervil River

_**Part IV: That Girl Has Love**_

"_Danny_," Tucker said, drawing out the word to emphasize his impatience.

"I told you, two o'clock…if it all follows the same timeline…we got in around two." Danny was distracted, still thinking about the night before and what it all meant. He had called Tucker and told him to come over immediately. Tucker had made it with surprising speed, and once he was there, Danny had given him a brief synopsis of the night before. He didn't seem convinced.

"Danny." Tucker said again, this time in that old, tired, my-friends-going-completely-over-the-edge way. The clock had just flashed 2:00.

"I don't--" Danny started, but before he could begin trying to figure out how he had been mistaken, Sam walked _through _the door.

"Hey," he smiled with some relief. He looked toward Tucker, expecting to see him gawking at Sam but instead found him looking worriedly at him.

"Oh please! You can't tell me you don't see her! She's standing _right _there," Danny breathed with exasperation.

Sam rose an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Tucker put his hands on his head. "This is not good."

"Alright, give me a second," Danny mumbled, closing his eyes and trying to think. Tucker and Sam looked on with confused concern. "Okay, go down stairs and get the SpecterDetector," he said to Tucker. Tucker looked like he was going to argue. "Just do it."

"Danny?" Sam asked nervously as Tucker sighed and exited the room.

"Uh, sorry, just…new invisible….phone headset," he lied lamely. "It was my Dad."

Sam looked suspicious but didn't push it further. Instead, she plopped down on his bed. Danny sat down beside her, putting his arm around her and kissing her on the cheek.

She grinned but pushed him away. "You promised you'd get started on that essay."

"Mmhmm," he said, pulling her closer and burying his face into her shoulder. She was laughing again as Tuck opened the door.

"Hold on Sam, my Dad's calling again." Danny walked toward Tuck with his hand to his ear. "Uh huh," he said, looking straight at Tucker, "You just put the goggles on and turn the knob on the left side. Yeah, if there are any ghosts, you'll see the color change to green where they are. Mmmhmm, no problem. Okay, Dad."

Tuck rolled his eyes as he followed Danny's instructions, but as soon as the goggles went on his expression changed.

"Oh shit," he murmured. "_Sam_."

Danny looked over to Sam, who apparently was as oblivious to Tuck as he had been to her. "Hey, I've got to run downstairs for a second to get something for my Dad, okay?" Sam nodded, and he kissed her quickly before he left. He grabbed Tucker's arm and dragged him out of the room.

Tucker took off the goggles. "You can _see _her see her?"

Danny nodded. "I can touch her, even. I mean, she's _tangible _to me."

Tucker grimaced. "This is weird, _really _weird. There's gotta be some kind of explanation…You said she doesn't know that--"

Danny shook his head quickly. "No. She has no idea"

"And…she didn't see me at all?" Tuck asked. His voice was dark and quiet, except for a small strain of hope.

Danny couldn't bring himself to say no, so he just shook his head with an apologetic frown.

Tucker tried to shrug it off. "Well, just go and be with her, and I'll try to figure out what's going on."

"Thanks," Danny said; he turned toward the door.

"Danny!" Tuck stood in the same place, shoulders slumped, eyes on his feet. He looked up. "Tell her I miss her, too."

Danny smiled weakly, "I will."

When Tucker finally called, it was already 6 o'clock. Danny couldn't believe how quickly the hours flew by even with all the deception, worry, and confusion. When he picked up the phone, Sam rolled her eyes. "What about the invisible headset?" she asked.

Danny kissed her quickly before walking into the hall.

"What did you find?"

Tucker, sitting in front of the findings on this computer screen, frowned. "You aren't going to like it."

"I don't like anything about this," Danny said, leaning against the wall as he looked back toward his room. "Just tell me."

Tucker inhaled deeply. "Sam is trapped in a memory. She's part ghost but part memory too. My best guess is that you can see her and touch her because you were there, you're part of the memory and well, because you're part ghost too. But when she dies….there's no changing that."

"But there _has _to be," Danny said, voice slurred by frustrated tears. "I mean, I can change how the rest of the day went…there _has _to be a way."

"I wish there was." Tucker's voice was small and shaky. "But it's not time travel…it's….she's already _dead_. The Sam you're with isn't Sam…it's just a shadow, a mix of old memories."

"You wouldn't say that if you could see her," he snapped back but then regretted saying. He lightened his tone apologetically. "There has so be _something. _I mean, we always figure it out. We _always _save the day. We saved the world; we've saved complete strangers. There _has _to be a way for us to save her." He clenched his hands so tight he almost drew blood.

"There is something you can do." Tuck knew it wasn't the kind of solution Danny was looking for.

"_**Anything**_."

"You have to tell her. You have to tell her she's dead, Danny." It was a demand, not a request. "As long as she doesn't know, she stays trapped. If you don't tell her, she'll just keep reliving the day she died forever."

"And if I do tell her? Will she go to the ghost zone? Will I be able to be with her?" Danny asked, but the answers had been apparent in Tucker's tone.

"No," he confirmed. "From what I've read…she'll be gone. She'll be able to rest in peace."

"She'll be dead," Danny challenged. "She'll be dead, and I'll never see her again."

"She's dead already, Danny!" Tuck growled. He hated that Danny was making him into the villain. _Of course _he wanted Sam alive; _of course _he wanted to see her again. But that's not the way things were, and someone had to be realistic. "It's not fair for either of you for you to keep doing this. You have to let go. Sam is gone, and you're going to have to accept it eventually."

"She's not gone! Not yet! I can walk into that room right now and touch her and talk to her, so don't you tell me that she's gone!" He shouted quietly so Sam wouldn't hear him from his room. It made his voice sound like one long hiss.

"Don't you get it?!" Tucker was tired of arguing. "That's _not _Sam. That girl in there….she'll _always _be seventeen. She'll never get older, she'll never travel or learn anything new, she'll never be able to change or get married or get a job or live her own life. She'll never remember anything that happens. That's not the Sam we knew. That girl in there isn't any more Sam than the memories you have of her. She's just a memory." Tuck didn't know if he was trying more to convince Danny or himself. Silence came from the other end of the line.

"You have to tell her, Danny." His voice dropped to almost a whisper. "You can't make her live like that just so you don't have to let her go. It's not fair."

Tucker waited for a response. Silence until-

"If you would like to make a call, please hang up--"

He hung up his phone with a hard sigh.

Danny took a few moments to regain composer before he returned to his room. Sam was sitting in front of an open scrabble board. She grinned, "Ready to die?"

The question was, was she?


	5. Magic

**Author's Notes: **Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews :D I like to write, but I have no words for how lovely it is to recieve reviews :) Hopefully all your questions will be answered in the next two chapters! :D

**Music suggestions:**

Magic by Ben Folds Five

Ghost by Neutral Milk Hotel

How To Be Dead by Snow Patrol

**Part V: Magic**

That night it had happened pretty much the same way. As the clock neared 8, Danny had tried again to save her, this time going outside and trying to turn her intangible. It had failed, and again, he had been forced to watch her die.

The next day, Tuck automatically launched into a speech about telling Sam the truth. Danny lied and told him that he had. When he retreated to his room around two o'clock, he told Tucker he needed some time to himself.

And so it continued day after day after day, but each time he saw Sam die, he felt a part of himself go with her. He went through waves of emotion: guilt, happiness, depression, loneliness, joy. He tried not to think of the future--how it would be when he got older and she stayed the same. He tried to pretend that he would never let it get that far, but he couldn't imagine himself ever being able to let go.

Until one day when they sat outside on the steps as the sun went down. "Want to go inside?" Danny asked with a kiss on the top of her head. "It's getting dark out."

Sam smiled, enjoying the summer sounds and sights of crickets and fireflies and sprinklers and mothers calling their children in. She yawned. "So?" she teased. "Isn't it your job to protect me?"

He felt his stomach twist inside him. Wasn't it? Wasn't he supposed to keep her safe, keep her from harm, keep her from being _killed _night after night? "I'm _trying_," he croaked out, his hands grasped a little tighter on her. "You know if I could…" he struggled and then stopped so he could hold back tears.

Time froze as she screamed, and he knew it had started again.

* * *

He didn't sleep at all that night but sat awake, sifting through pictures and thoughts of Sam. His heart felt pulled by every photo, like it was reaching out to touch her. He didn't want to have to let her go. He needed her.

"_Isn't it your job to protect me?_"

He winced. _She _needed _him_. He hadn't wanted Tucker to be right; he hadn't wanted to believe she was trapped. But she was. She was in the prison of a single day and an unavoidable end.

She wouldn't have wanted it this way. She wanted more from life than one day could give her. She wanted to break all the molds, not be forced into following one. He loved her, and it _was _his job to protect her. It was time he started doing it.

The next day would be the last day he spent with her.

He tried to make it special, but there was only so much he could do. They couldn't go anywhere too public because his talking to the air would surely garner suspicion. Most of the day they spent in his room, like they usually did. He didn't want Sam to be worried or confused on the last day he had with her, so he kept himself from saying all he wanted to say. They were together and happy for the day. That would have to be enough.

He worried several times that he wouldn't be able to do it, that for all his drive and conviction, he wouldn't be able to say goodbye to her for good. But the more he remembered how much he loved her, the more he knew he had to do what was right for her. So at 7:15, he asked her to take a walk with him.

They walked down the same street she had walked down The Day. After a few more turns, they came upon the stone bench he had been looking for. Danny sat down, and Sam sat down beside him.

He reached out and held his hand to her cheek. "I love you, Sam."

A warm smile spread across her face. "I love you, too."

He kissed her gently and then leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't want to let you go," he whispered so lowly Sam couldn't make it out.

A light warm, rain started to fall from overhead. She smiled, looking upward for a second. When she looked back, Danny was crying.

"It's just rain!" she snorted, shocked Danny would be getting so upset over something like that. It meant more than that to him though; it was as if he had no choice but to tell her, as if it was all already over. He held her hands. He was just going to have to start.

"About a month ago, we spent the day together and ended up falling asleep in my room. Your parents wanted you home early so you left and told me to go back to sleep. I called you a little later to check on you, and you were still walking home…it had started raining," Danny choked a little, but forced himself to continue. "There was an accident. A car. You died, Sam. You…You're dead."

Samantha looked frozen as she allowed his words to process. She laughed in panicked disbelief. "No--I. We….that can't be true. I mean, I'm not dead! I'm right here! I--" For the first time, she took notice of her surroundings. She couldn't believe she had blind to it before. They were in a cemetery. "No," she moaned, a terrible feeling in her pit. Without thinking, she walked to a grave she seemed to be instinctively drawn to. Her name was there, the day she was born….and the day she died. Died. _**Died**_. It was carved in unarguable stone. She fell down beside the grave, _her _grave, and began weeping. Danny knelt at her side.

"It was so perfect," her strained voice seemed to float like a dreamy, distant wind. "The day had been so perfect…and then it had started to rain, my favorite kind of rain…just like this…and I had thought 'I wish Danny were here' and you had called and then--" She clutched her stomach as the memories came rushing back to her. "Oh my god, Danny," she whimpered. "I'm dead. I died. I'm _dead_."

As she spoke, her form grew lighter. Some deep down feeling told them both: this is it. "I'm so sorry," she wept desperately. "I love you, Danny. I love you." She tried to reach out and pull him in for one last kiss, but her hands swept right through.

"Sam!" In one quick instance, he had gone ghost and grabbed the fading shadows of her arms. He kissed her hard, whispering "I love you, too" desperately between each parting of their lips.

After a few moments, the sound of her tears stopped and a cold wind swept through him in the warm rain. He sunk to the grave with empty hands. This time, she was gone.

* * *

Not quite done yet! :) The next chapter (chapter 6) will be the final chapter.


	6. A Cold Wind Blows Through Your Door

**Author's Notes: **Thank you so much for the reviews guys! :) You make me happy when skies are gray and motivate me to actually post chapters in a timely fashion ;) This is the last chapter and if I had to pick one song-to-chapter match up I liked best, it would definitely be this chapter with A Cold Wind Blows Through Your Door. You should definitely check out the song, it's terribly sweet but sad, and the melody is upbeat but also slightly somber, which I tried to reflect in this chapter. Hope you like it! :)

**Music suggestions: **

A Cold Wind Blows Through Your Door by Bill Ricchini

Knife Going In by Tegan and Sara

_Dedicated to all of those that reviewed :)_

**_Epilogue_: A Cold Wind Blows Through Your Door**

I woke up in his room again.

It was normal enough. Between group sleepovers and afternoon naps and late night study sessions (plus those precious few weekends the rest of his family went away), I had woken up in his room almost about as often as I'd woken up in mine. Yet as normal as it felt, I knew it wasn't normal; I knew _I _wasn't normal.

I was dead.

It was a fact that was so much a part of me now, it didn't even cause shock. I was dead. That was it. I wasn't scared. I wasn't amazed. I was just _dead, _and no amount of crying would change that.

I had come back from wherever I was to be in Danny's room, awake but alone. That was the only strange part, really, because for the last few months I hadn't woken up anywhere outside of Danny's arms. I looked around, wanting him to be there somewhere, but my eyes fell instead on a pen and piece of paper.

"That's it?" I asked. My voice was weaker than I remembered it. It cracked even as a whisper. "_This _is all I get?"

There was no answer out loud, but I felt it somewhere inside me. Yes, this was it. And it wasn't for me. There was nothing for me now. This was for him.

Knowing that, I sat down at his desk and put the pen to the page. I knew it was silly to cry, pointless and weak, but I couldn't help it.

I did the best I could, but I had never been much of a writer…or at least not for happy things.And I wanted this to be happy. I wanted _him _to be happy.

I knew once I finished, I would be gone. A little part of me wanted to write forever, just so I wouldn't have to go wherever I was headed. Maybe it was selfish, but can you blame me? I was about to give up a life I'd spent 17 years making.

But like I said, I was dead, and I knew it. There was no sense prolonging the inevitable. As I wrote, I felt the tears rush down my cheeks.

I was dead. I was dead, and this would never be enough. I looked around the room, still empty, and felt a cold chill rush over me. It would have to be.

* * *

Danny had been praying for some kind of miracle, that at two o'clock the next day Sam would be sitting in his room alive because he had somehow broken the spell. His room stayed as empty as he felt. No miracle this time, no happy ending.

The weeks went by, and he got better about trying to forget. After a while, he even started staying in his room again.

It was the first night he stayed there. Sam's jacket was still on the bed. He lifted it gently and a note tumbled to the floor. He opened it with trembling fingers.

"_Danny,_

_Don't ask me how this is possible; I don't know. Maybe the Big Man in The Sky realized how royally he screwed us over and was trying to make up for it somehow. Personally, I would have preferred he had just gotten it right the first time…but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Regardless, I know I don't have much time. Not nearly enough time to say everything. I'll do my best and say what I can._

_First: I love you. I love you. __**I love you**__. I love you more than I even knew I could love something, so much it used to make me sick. I didn't want to be one of those girls who would have given up everything just for some guy. But you weren't just some guy. I love you, Danny. I don't know if that matters now or even means anything, but I wanted you to know because, well, it means something to me. _

_I want you to tell my family, that despite everything, I loved them too, and Tucker, of course. Tell Tuck I wish I could have told him goodbye. And tell Jazz, too…and your mom and dad and everyone. God, suddenly I want one last moment with everyone, even the people I thought I hated. Just make sure those I cared about know that I did…and that I'm going to be alright. Tell everyone I'm going to be alright. _

_I need you to take care of yourself, Danny. You've got to stay safe. I always thought I'd be there to protect you, a last line of defense if any of those ghosts tried to get the best of you. But I won't be anymore. As much as I wish it was different, my story ends here, and yours will go on without me. I think I can make myself okay with that, as long as I know __**you'll **__be okay._

_I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to tell you to move on with your life and meet a new girl and fall in love and get married. Honestly, I don't know how people do that, maybe they're less selfish than I am. I don't want to give you up or let some other girl have the life with you that I wanted to have. But I do want you to be happy, no matter what. Whatever that means._

_I don't know what happens next. I don't know if I go to some great beyond or who I am just--stops. If I can, I'll try to watch out for you, make sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble. I'll try to be with you even if you can't see me. If I can, I'll keep loving you, and I'll be waiting for you on the other side._

_If not, if it does all just end--then this really is goodbye. What can I say but thank you? Thank you for making it this painful to go; it means at least I had something worthwhile to have to leave behind. I wish we had had more time. I wish I could have done more. I wish, I wish, I wish…there's so much. But it's too late now. And look on the bright side, at least I got to sit outside with you in the summer rain after all._

_Stay strong and persevere, Danny. Don't give up or become discouraged. I promise: nothing lasts forever; night __**always **__turns to day. Things __**will **__get better; you just have to make it through the hard parts, and I know that you can. Take shelter if you have to, but keep fighting. Because this is it, all I get, my last wish: Live a long and happy life. Smile, Danny, please smile. For me._

_Love always,_

_Sam_

_P.S. Keep the jacket you gave me. It's starting to get cold. _

He slipped on each sleeve, wrapped his arms tightly around himself, and slid into a seat. As the night fell, a small, shaky smile emerged from beneath his tears.

A cold wind blew through the door.

_Fin._

* * *

I will admit, I cried while writing the last two chapters :( Hope you liked it!

Please review!! :)


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